Elly Dark Blue

Geert De Kockere & Lieve Baeten

Elly Dark Blue is an eccentric and chatty queen who’s crazy about dark blue. This passion prompts her to fill her world with dark blue things: she lives in a dark blue castle on the shores of a dark blue sea and she wears dark blue clothes. But then something unexpected happens: Elly falls in love with King Golden Yellow. The king lives in a golden yellow palace and wanders along a golden yellow beach. After testing whether she can actually like golden yellow – bit by bit, she adds some golden yellow to her life – Eefje gives in to her love for the king. They marry and have a big bunch of children and grandchildren in all colours of the rainbow.

Unsurprisingly, this fairy tale made it into the top 10 of 'best children’s books of all time

De Wereld Morgen

‘Elly Dark Blue’ is a classic Flemish picture book. First published in 1992, it has been reprinted many times since. At first glance it looks like a simple book about colours aimed at pre-schoolers, but it’s also a book about friendship, love and tolerance, showing children that being different doesn’t have to be scary. Geert de Kockere’s poetic language and Lieve Baeten’s gorgeous illustrations lift this book above the average, as does its content: together with Elly Dark Blue, readers learn that there is more beyond a monochromatic world.